Christa and Nick met in high school and became close friends. The kind of friends who talked easily, laughed often, and slowly became inseparable. Friendship turned into a deep bond, and somewhere along the way, feelings grew. They started dating during the second semester of senior year, knowing that graduation would take them in different directions. Christa was headed to Boston to study at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee, and Nick was starting college at the University of South Florida. Even then, they chose each other, believing what they had was worth the distance, not knowing where it would take them. Over the years, that belief carried them through miles, college degrees, and more cities than they can count. Because film music was always Christa’s passion, she made her way to USC for the Screen Scoring master’s program, while Nick pursued his love of science after being accepted into a PhD program in Chemistry at UC Berkeley. Through it all, long distance became their normal, and commitment remained their constant. Now, nine years and many cities later, they’ve finally arrived at the moment they always knew was coming and for which they have been waiting. They are getting married, and the long-distance countdown is ending. In May, Nick is graduating from UC Berkeley, moving to Los Angeles, and becoming a postdoctoral fellow at the California Institute of Technology. For the first time since they started this journey together, there will be no more goodbyes at airports, no more 5 1/2-hour long drives, or time spent coordinating which city to spend birthdays, holidays, or anniversaries in. Now it will be just one city, one home, and a future they get to share every day, with their very cute and fluffy cat, Bubsie, along for the ride.